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FRANCIS, DickBolt. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph, London , 1986, FRANCIS, Dick. Bolt. London : Michael Joseph, (1986). First Edition. Pp (6),7-[240]. 8vo, black cloth, gilt lettering to spine. "When Kit Fielding, champion steeplechase jockey, finds that Princess Casilia, his chief patron, is facing serious trouble, he goes unhesitatingly to her aid. Neither realises that his instinctive support is the first step to a frightening battle involving violent risk, with the honour of the princess's family as the prize and Kit's own destruction as the forfeit.Beset by other problems, not least his troubled romance with Danielle, the princess's niece, Kit knows that while steering through deadly outside dangers and riding at breakneck speed in races, he must also contend with the long-term hatred of his own family's enemy. Many of the characters from Break In, Dick Francis's previous bestseller, reappear in Bolt, but the story ends here - and it's a story which will keep every reader on the very edge of his seat until the last page is turned." - from the dj flap. Very good in dustjacket. 25.00

FRANCIS, DickCome to Grief. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph, London , 1995, ISBN:0718137531 FRANCIS, Dick. Come to Grief. London : Michael Joseph, (1995). First Edition. Pp. (6,1-[279],(3). 8vo, black cloth, gilt lettering to spine. "Sid Halley, the ex-champion jockey turned investigator who appears in "Odds Against" and "Whip Hand" is back. In "Come to Grief" he faces new dilemmas, new dangers, new deeply demanding decisions. As the book opens, Sid Halley has uncovered an obnoxious crime committed by a friend whom he - and everyone else - has held in affection bordering on love. On the morning set for the opening of the friend's trial, at which Sid is due to be a witness, other people's miseries explode and send him spinning into pulverising days of hard, rational detection and heart-searching torments. Troubled, courageous and unwilling to admit defeat, for Sid Halley it is business as usual.". - from the dj flap. Very good in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00

FRANCIS, DickDanger. First Edition in dustjacketLondon , 1983, ISBN:0718123409 FRANCIS, Dick. The Danger. London : Michael Joseph, (1983). First Edition. Pp. (8),9-[272]. 8vo, black cloth with gilt lettering to spine. "Wherever there is money, there are sharks - the human variety. There's a great deal of money in racing. Andrew Douglas, working as a partner in the firm of Liberty Market Ltd, is used to sharks - when they come in the shape of kidnappers. The Danger is his involvement in the seizing of a victim which embroilsthe racing world from Italy to England to the United States." - from the d j flap. Very good in price-clipped dustjacket, (small tear to inner flap). 20.00

FRANCIS, DickShattered. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph , London , 2000, ISBN:9780718154585 FRANCIS, Dick. Shattered. London : Michael Joseph, (2000). First Printing. Pp. (6),7-[272],(10). 8vo, black cloth with silver lettering to spine. "When jockey Martin Stukely dies following a fall in a steeplechase at Cheltenham races, he accidentally embroils his friend Gerard Logan in a perilous search for a stolen videotape. Gerard Logan, half artist, half artisan, is a glass blower on the verge of widespread acclaim for the originality and ingenuity of his work. He has long been accustomed to the frightful dangers inherent in molten glass and in maintaining a glass-making furnace at never less than 1,8000 degrees F day and night , but now he is suddenly faced witha series of unexpected and terrifying threats, first to his livelihood, th en to his courage and finally, to his life. Believing the missing videotapeto contain priceless information, and wrongly convinced that Logan knows w here to find it, a vicious group of villains sets out to extract from him the information he does not have. Logan reckons that to survive he must himself find out the truth. The journey is a thorny one, and the final race to the tape throws more hurdles and more hazards in his way than his dead jockey friend could ever have imagined. Glass shatters. Logan doesn't . . . butit's a close run thing." - from the dj flap. Very good in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00

FRANCIS, DickStraight. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph, London, 1989, ISBN:071813180 FRANCIS, Dick. Straight. London : Michael Joseph, (1989). Pp (6),1-280,(2).8vo, blue cloth, glt lettering to spine. With both Canadian and UK prices on dj. "I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his tesk, his business, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it nearly killed me." Derek Franklin, steeplechase jockey, has problems enough of his own. At thirty-four he's coming towards the end of his career, and a serious disagreement with the last fence at Cheltenham has left him oncrutches with a crushed ankle. But the death of his much older - but still much loved - brother Greville lands him even deeper in trouble. Pitchforke d into a maelstrom of dangers - as inexplicable as they are violent - he finds that honesty can be a deadly virtue and that courage only provokes the evil escalating around him. His only hope of survival is to identify his brother's mvsterious enemies, but Greville, whose life apparently had as manyfacets as the gem stones he imported, has left no clues to their identity: only unhelpful snippets of philosophy. 'The bad scorn he good,' he wrote, 'and the crooked despise the straight.' The finishing straight is where a race is won or lost. Derek Franklin has to call on all hfe reserves of stamina and endurance just to complete the final furlong. Straight is vintage Francis: a complex and exhilarating story of intrigue and villainy where he stakes are as hign as the action is furious - and the entertainment guaranteed." (from the dj). Name on flyleaf, else very good in unclipped dustjacket. 20.00

FRANCIS, DickTo the Hilt. First Edition in dustjacketLondon, 1996, ISBN:071813754X FRANCIS, Dick. To the Hilt. London : Michael Joseph, (1996). First Edition.Pp (6),1-[282]. 8vo, black cloth, gilt lettering to spine. Alexander Kinlo ch, artist, has worked out a good pattern for life. His home is a small bothy on a remote mountain in Scotland, he paints on commission, from which hederives both pleasure and a decent income, he lives alone and likes it. On e day, however, Alexander's peace is violently shattered when he returns home and finds a group of strangers waiting for him.After a scuffle, he is left for dead, with only the words "Where is it?" left ringing in his ears. And the days that follow contain more danger than he could ever have imagined." - from the dj. Very good in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00

FRANCIS, DickWild Horses. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph, London , 1994, ISBN:0718136039 FRANCIS, Dick. Wild Horses. London : Michael Joseph, (1994). Pp (6),1-[282]. 8vo, black cloth, silver lettering to spine. "Valentine, a blind, confused and dying old man, seeking his peace with God, makes his last confession to a visiting friend, Thoms Lyon, mistaking him for a priest. This puts Thomas, [in Newmarket to research for a new film] in a moral dilemma. Wild horses wouldn't drag from a priest the secrets of the confessional - but then Thomas is not a priest. Thomas is engaged in directing a film concerned with racing when he unexpectedly finds himself facing the old wild-horses dilemma. Should he tell what he knows from the confession, or not? He discoversthat the solution to his quandary could mean the difference between life a nd death. Accustomed as he is to making difficult choices and decisions, heneeds to call on extreme courage and cunning to sort out through the chaos and keep himself alive. 'Wild Horses' is a masterly mix of fine writing, c onvining characters and an inscrutable and ingenious plot - all ingredientswhich make Dick Francis`s thriller champion class." - from the dj. Very go od in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00

FRANCIS, Dick FRANCIS, FelixEven Money. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph / Penguin, London , 2009, ISBN:9780718154585 FRANCIS, Dick and Felix FRANCIS. Even Money. London : Michael Joseph / Penguin, (2009). First Edition. Pp. (10),1-[382],(4). 8vo, black cloth with silver lettering to spine. "On the first day of Royal Ascot, the crowd rejoices in a string of winning favourites. Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmaker - taking over the family business from his grandfather - so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings, and he counts his losses. He's seen the ups and downs before - but, asthe big gambling conglomerates muscle in on small concerns like his, Ned w onders if it's worth it any more. When a grey-haired man steps forward fromthe crowd claiming to be his father, Ned's life is thrown into far deeper turmoil. He'd been told since he was a baby that his parents had died in a car crash. Barely an hour later his newly found father is stabbed by an unknown assailant in the Ascot car park. Blood oozing from his abdomen, he warns Ned: 'Be very careful'. But of whom? Of what? Ned finds himself in a race to solve his father's riddles, a race where coming second could cost him more than even money, it could cost him his life." - from the dj flap. Verygood in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00

FRANCIS, Dick FRANCIS, FelixSilks. First Edition in dustjacketMichael Joseph / Penguin, London , 2008, ISBN:9780718154585 FRANCIS, Dick and Felix FRANCIS. Silks. London : Michael Joseph / Penguin, (2008). First Printing. Pp. (6),1-[368],(10). 8vo, black cloth with silver lettering to spine. "'Julian Trent, you have been found guilty by this court of perpetrating a violent and unprovoked attack on an innocent family including a charge of attempted murder. You have shown little or no remorse for your actions and I consider you a danger to society.' When defence barrister Geoffrey Mason hears the judge’s verdict, he quietly hopes that a long and arduous custodial sentence will be handed down to his arrogant young client. That Julian Trent only receives eight years seems all too lenient. Little does Mason expect that he’ll be looking Trent in the eyes again much sooner than he’d ever imagined. Setting aside his barrister’s wig, Mason heads to Sandown to don his racing silks. An amateur jockey, his true passion is to be found in the saddle on a Thoroughbred, pounding the turf in the heat of a steeplechase. But when a fellow rider is brutally murdered – a pitchfork driven through his chest – Mason’s racing life soon becomes all too close to his working life. The prime suspect is one of their brethren, champion jockey Steve Mitchell; the evidence is overwhelming. Mason is reluctantto heed Mitchell’s pleas for legal advice – but soon he finds himself at t he centre of a sinister web of threat and intimidation. Mason is left fighting a battle of right and wrong, and more immediately, a battle of life anddeath… his own." - from the dj flap. Very good in dustjacket (with both UK and Canadian prices on dj flap). 16.00